Wednesday, July 07, 2004

I can date the moment when I ceased to be a rock music fan with exact precision, at least in my personal narrative if not on the calendar. I still listened to rock music at parties, on the radio, and even bought rock LPs and in later years CDs. But there came a moment when I no longer defined myself in a certain way or paid close and careful attention to the music that had once been so important to me.

On the same day I bought The Beatles White Album and Fathers and Sons a Chess LP that joined blues veterans Muddy Watters Otis Spann,and Sam Lay with a newer generation Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, stax bassist Dick "Duck" Dunn, and Buddy Miles. The were both double LPs. I stacked them on the spindle, alternating Beatles and blues. By the time, I had played all eight sides, I had left rock and roll behind.

There's a moment when Paul Butterfield comes in with a wild harmonica woop. For me that was it. The real authentic stuff. The White Album seemed a pale imitation. I may have played it a few more times, but shortly loaned it to a classmate. He never returned it and I never asked..